Gone With the Wind

We had Cam's graduation party last Sunday evening. As soon as I started planning his party, I had envisioned a lovely, sunny, warm afternoon. I imagined setting the tables up in the front yard underneath the shade of the trees. I was prepared for the bugs that would surely swarm the picnic table covered with the contents of the low country boil. I even had a canopy in the ready in case the evening sun was too hot.

Alas, though, a warm, sunny afternoon was not to be. Instead it was a cold, windy one. I didn't have to worry about the bugs. Even they couldn't brave that wind. Didn't need the canopy either. In fact, a fireplace would've been nice to back up to.

I chased down napkins that blew off the tables. Even the salt and pepper shakers weren't safe. I ran those down, too. My 2011 confetti that I had ordered lasted on the table for about one second. Then it, too, went with the wind.

Admittedly, I was disappointed. It turned out nice, but I was upset that it was cold and windy. Just didn't seem the right weather for a low country boil. I had worked so hard on the planning and decorating, it was a little upsetting.

Crystal came over early in the day to help me put the tablecloths on each table. The wind was so awful that even using an entire roll of packing tape to tape them down, the cloths were still blowing away. We ended up having to tie the tablecloths down with ribbon, which required me to lie on the ground underneath the table to tie them. I pulled a tick off my back yesterday. I'm guessing it's from rolling around in the grass tying tablecloths.

But despite the adverse weather, it was a great party. I think he'll remember it forever. He better anyway.

Here are a few pictures of the day. Also, I have learned that whenever you have an event such as a graduation party where you're going to be busy chasing paper plates and greeting guests, it would've been SO nice to have a photographer. Suz and Alayna made the pictures that I did get. They did a good job, but in hindsight, there are so many pictures I would liked to have had taken, but just didn't think about it.

I had this banner made for him. I thought it turned out so nice. If you ever need to order party supplies, visit Shindigz.com. They have EVERYTHING and you can custom order most of it to suit the color scheme of your party.

These are the tables. Each table had a little Mason jar with a hydrangea for a centerpiece. But I didn't get a picture of those. Chances are, I was picking them up off the ground instead of snapping pictures.

I made Cam this photo board with lots of pictures from his childhood all the way up till now. I had every first day of school picture on it. We had to nail it to a tree to keep it from blowing away.

Me and my sweet boy.

Jeff, Joseph and Ross were the boilmasters. They did an awesome job, especially for a first time.

When everything had been added to the pot and cooked till it was done, they scooped it out and dumped it on the picnic table.

It was a lovely sight. The shrimp were hard to peel, but once you got into them, they were delicious. The crawfish, not so much. I won't be trying those again. Yuck. The sausage was great, as were the potatoes and corn. A low country boil really is a good idea to serve to large crowd. So easy.

There are a couple of nice bakeries around my area, but when it comes to cakes, unless it's baked by one of my aunts or cousins or my mom, I like Publix cakes the best. So naturally, that's who I chose to make the cake for the party. Boo. It was dry and not nearly up to my expectations. It was pretty though.

After everyone ate, we went inside the garage to let Cam open his cards. That and to warm up.

He had lots of family and friends there and to all who came, it meant a lot to him. And to me.

He is blessed to be loved by so many people. He got so many nice cards and notes. Despite the wind and cold, despite the dry cake, despite the shrimp that didn't want to come out of their shells, it was after all a lovely party.

I got bruised, scraped and a big, fat tick bite getting ready for it, but it was worth it. Thank goodness it's over!

Next up. A beach getaway for me. I think I definitely deserve it.

Till next time...